Lawsuits

If Whitney Port is bothered by a lawsuit alleging another designer did most of the work on her “Whitney Eve,” she did a good job hiding it at the Ecco Domani Fashion Party in NYC last night, mingling with Emmy Rossum and 30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden. Maybe the fact that her accuser admits to never signing a single contract has her less than fretful about the outcome. See photos of the ladies at play in the gallery below.

Aren’t near-death experiences supposed to affect those who have them? Erin Muller reportedly e-mailed Radar to report she’s considering dropping all charges against life-threatening ex-fiancee Michael Lohan now that he’s suffered a heart attack. “With all of his health problems, I am concerned that if I don’t drop the charges he is going to continue obsessing over me, and this case to the point that he may have another heart attack and die…I don’t want that on my hands.” Her concern seems ironic, considering the graphic history of abuse she reported in court documents late last year. “I just need to move on, get away from him and have peace.” Muller has had Lohan arrested multiple times for breaking her restraining order against him.

Despite his equal fondness for litigation, Lohan suggests he’s ready move on as well. “We have all been through enough; Erin, her family, my family and all the people who will be dragged into court if this continues or goes forward.” That said, if Michael proves unable to stop talking about her alleged “drug use, cheating, being committed to a psych ward and sex with family members,” as he tweeted last December, Muller says she will take a page from his playbook and release recordings of Lindsay Lohan‘s estranged father. And what a disaster for his reputation that would be.

Music producer Rob Fusari is suing Lady Gaga for $35 million. This means she’s finally made it, right? Apparently Fusari started working with the Lady in 2006, and, according to the suit, came up with her stage name, co-wrote songs like “Paparazzi” and “Beauty, Dirty, Rich,” and shifted her sound from cheesy piano rock to cheesier dance music. Fusari is claiming that Gaga cut him out of her career – and the lucrative payday that has come along with it – and now wants some of that cash.

Most interestingly, numerous sites are referring to the producer as Gaga’s ex-boyfriend. We checked out pics of Rob Fusari online and have judged him on looks alone, and damn – if this guy is Gaga’s type then we all have a little bit of soul-searching to do. We’re just saying – we never pegged her as being into the mini-mullet and generic hippie necklace type. [Photo: GettyImages]

What does it say when you hit every company’s show at Paris Fashion Week except the one you allegedly work for? Lindsay Lohan—whose first show for Ungaro flopped last year—was notably absent from this season’s show, and the label is making clear she had no part in designing this season whatsoever. Though the company has yet to confirm all ties have been severed, it’s hard to imagine she’d be AWOL otherwise. Then again, maybe she was just really, really late.

While Lohan may be saying goodbye to one paycheck, more cash may await her soon. The star has filed suit against E-Trade for a Super Bowl ad featuring a “milkaholic” wild child who just happened to share her first name. “Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit,” her lawyer told the New York Post. “They used the name Lindsay. They’re using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn’t they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody’s talking about it and saying it’s Lindsay Lohan.” For the tarnishing and exploitation of her first name, the adult Lindsay wants $50 million in exemplary damages and $50 million in compensatory damages. Hey, you have to make your milk money somehow.

More than twenty years after his first arrest for assaulting an extra, Sean Penn is once again in trouble for thrashing a pap. The two-time Academy Award winner will be arraigned next month for charges of misdemeanor battery and vandalism stemming from incident last October. Jordan Dawes accuses Penn of punching, kicking and threatening to “put him in a box” after the photographer started taking shots of the actor from more than 50 ft away in Brentwood, CA. “He beelined it for me and started kicking me in the legs…My camera was damaged,” Dawes told E! News at the time. “I’m all bruised up.”

Penn served just over a month for punching someone on the set of Colors in 1987, and was alleged to have fled arrest in China after holding a shutterbug over a balcony by his ankles on the set of Shanghai Surprise, his 1986 film with then-wife Madonna. If found guilty of his latest charges, the 50 year-old actor could face up to 18 months in prison.

America’s long national nightmare is over: Jon Gosselin and TLC have settled their dueling lawsuits. “TLC has reached a settlement with Jon Gosselin and will be undertaking procedural steps to conclude the litigation. All terms of the settlement are confidential. The whole Gosselin family remain under contract with TLC,” said the network in a statement. While this means JoGo won’t be running off to filmDivorced Dad’s Club or Jon Loves Octomom for anyone else (” I truly hope that this new adventure for TLC and the Gosselins is a much more joyful journey,” Jon’s lawyer prayed to Radar), we’re cool as long as our hero is free of the injuction that has kept him from speaking to media for more than two months (seriously, it’s been that long!). Here are some of the mysteries that have been locked behind TLC’s muzzle:

Why, if you had two cents for every opinion JoGo’s wanted to share with the paparazzi since December, you could probably buy a cup of coffee…or at least put a quarter or two in the tip jar. Oh yeah—those little brats can go back on TV too. Get psyched!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have taken legal action against the British tabloid News Of The World for claiming the celebs have made legal plans to separate. “The News of the World has failed to meet our clients’ reasonable demands for a retraction of and apology for these false and intrusive allegations which have now been widely republished by mainstream news outlets,” said a member of their legal team. “We have advised them to bring proceedings which they have now done.” It might surprise you that they’re only suing one tabloid, considering how many rumors they’ve endured over the last five years, but the popularity of the story—remember last month’s rush of #Brangelinabreakup tweets?—and that it came from Britain, where libel laws put the weight of proof on the publisher, make it a perfect opportunity for Brangelina to strike back at the vultures who would dare doubt their eternal love.

Ironically, the tabloid happens to be owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corporation, which also runs Fox. That studio happens to be the home of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the film that sparked the gossip magnet that is Brangelina in the first place. The couple has yet to say whether they are seeking monetary damages.

With only seven months to go until Frances Bean Cobain‘s 18th birthday, the matter of her custody will soon be moot. But from the way Courtney Love is tweeting, a legal battle between her and current guardians grandmother Wendy O’Connor and aunt Kim Cobain could continue well after the candles are blown out. “This s–t with the Bean needs to be exposed for what it is right f–king NOW enough,” she shared with her followers (typos hers). “They squeesed my bank accounts so that they were frozen because they know im going to sue the holy s–t out of them and now are…crocodiling my kid whose better than this seriously she was raised too well to be bought.” Was she, now?

Despite her obvious disappointment—and oh yeah, that restraining order—Love still has plenty of affection for “the Bean.” “im severely lonely without my best friend and no am not on drugs BTW.” All the more reason to give us that album and tour you’ve been promising for over three years, Courtney! Sounds like you’ve got plenty to sing about.

Shaquille O’Neal has been sued for harassment by Vanessa Lopez, who claims the singer and his family threatened her after she ended a five-year affair. According to Lopez’ suit, the high school friends were reacquainted in 2004, with Shaq pursuing her romantically and claiming to have an open marriage with wife Shaunie—who filed for divorce last November. Years of hotel rendezvous followed until Lopez had a pregnancy scare last summer. Angered by his assumption that she had been cheating on him, she dumped the NBA legend, who responded with constant phone calls.

Threatening to tell his wife about their relationship if he didn’t leave her alone, Lopez—no stranger to NBA drama—claims she was then contacted by Shaq’s 6’6″ sister Ayesha, claiming the star’s other sister, 6’8″ Latifah, might may pay her a less-than-friendly visit. She also accused Shaq—who continued to fill her phone with hang-ups and heavy breathing—of giving her number to an associate, adding “dis is da numba shut that b—- up!” Fearing Shaq could use his millions and connections to do just that, Lopez wants in excess of $750,000 from the Cleveland Cav. So far Shaq doesn’t seem to be sweating it—he’s too busy praising Daybreakers on Twitter to comment.

Lindsay Lohan‘s reputation a fashion designer may be under attack, but there’s no denying her success as a crap magnet. The Mean Girls star was enjoying what was so far a relatively quiet weekend of clubbing, when her driver bashed into a photographer (known to his pals as Koko) outside of LA’s Hotel Cafe around 12:30am. The damage to Koko’s arm was bad enough that an ambulance was called—though the Koko didn’t actually go to the hospital—and the paparazzo is fighting mad. “That girl was driving like an aggressive b—-.” he told X17. “She knocked me down on the ground and she didn’t give a sh*t — she didn’t bother to even roll down the window and yell out to me to see if I was okay. She just sped off and kept going.” If Lindsay’s speedster gets charged by the police, a lawsuit against the actress herself may follow.